The Hindu Business Line : HCL Tech Q3 net up 58 pc; to pay 100 pc interim

HCL Technologies Limited on Monday announced 58 per cent increase in net profit in January-March 2004 quarter to Rs 125.8 crore and declared an interim 100 per cent dividend for its third quarter.

HCL Tech revenues in January-March 2004 grew 39 per cent year-on-year to touch Rs 647.2 crore, according to a company release.

On sequential basis, the company's revenues in the third quarter were up 4 per cent and net profit was up 43 per cent. In keeping up with the practice of declaring quarterly dividend, HCL Tech announced a dividend of Rs 2 on a share of face value of Rs 2. This announcement brings the total interim dividend the company has paid so far to the shareholders in 2003-04 at 300 per cent.

In the first nine months, the company's revenues stood at Rs 1,830.34 crore and net profit at Rs 318.43 crore, excluding the proceeds from the sale of its stake in HCL Perot Systems to joint venture partner Perot Systems of US. The sale had added Rs 263.3 crore to the net consolidated income of the company in the October-December 2003 quarter.

The company added 26 new customers in the third quarter to take the total to 454. Clients include 61 Fortune 500 companies and 104 customers with a run rate in excess of one million dollars. Offshore centric business contributed 80 per cent to the consolidated revenues during the quarter, the release said.